Small units of the Special Air Services (SAS) and the Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR) have been operational in Syria for a number of weeks.
According to reports, in a recent operation in the Syrian border town of Kobane they helped drive out ISIS with the help of the local Kurdish fighters.
Britain prepares to step in with air-strikes against ISIS in Syria.
The SAS and the Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR) are getting ready to direct RAF air-strikes against ISIS targets in Syria should they get instructed by the Ministry of Defence.
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There are a few problems with escalating the war in Syria however well intended the goals may be.
- President Assad of Syria is also fighting the Islamic State and other rebel groups in what is considered a civil war.
- The British government has been accused of funding and supporting other Islamic groups besides ISIS who are fighting against the Syrian regime.
- Russia would want to be accommodated in any new military deal in Syria.
- Iran and Hezbollah might object as will their ally Assad, to western military interference in Syria’s civil war.
The Daily Mirror reports:
British planes are already attacking ISIS in Iraq but Defence Ministry experts believe its Syria bases must also be hit.
Dozens of SAS and some Special Boat Service troops are now in the conflict-ridden country trying to stop the terror plague spreading.
In a previous top-secret operation British and American special forces joined up in the Syrian border town of Kobane to help drive out jihadists slaughtering Kurdish civilians.
A source said: “The SAS are extremely good at entering a country covertly and persuading local factions that they need their help and they have proved invaluable in taking on ISIS.”
The SAS is helping co-ordinate air attacks by the US and Gulf states, even though the RAF is not yet involved.
The sources added: “As well as killing individual ISIS commanders and causing huge disruption that way they have been able to call in well-placed airstrikes.
“And, along with intelligence operators, they have provided detailed updates on what is happening inside Syria, in particular trying to assess ISIS’s capabilities and its vulnerabilities.”
It is also believed members of Britain’s secretive Special Reconnaissance Regiment has sent troops into Syria and Iraq to spy on ISIS.
Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was identified by British and American special forces – and critically injured when jets were sent to attack him.
RAF Tornado bombers and Reaper drones have flown hundreds of missions over Iraq since September, killing hundreds of fighters.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon now wants British planes to target the extremists “at source” in Syria if the House of Commons agrees.
Sources say one reason British troops have not been deployed to Syria publicly is because the UK is funding “legitimate” Islamic rebels fighting President Bashir Assad’s brutal regime.
Openly attacking ISIS would be a huge boost to Assad, who has been appealing for outside help.
